Odisha Health Secretary Shalini Pandit clarified that the health plan introduced by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government is still applicable, hence resolving any uncertainty over its legitimacy.
The agreement the state government reached with private hospitals about the BSKY is still in effect. The Health Department has stated that the reports that BSKY card members cannot access healthcare services are untrue.
Following the BJP’s victory in this week’s Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, some individuals have been disseminating false information claiming that private clinics in Odisha will no longer treat holders of BSKY cards. As a result, the private hospitals are returning a large number of BSKY beneficiaries are being returned by the private hospitals in the state, the rumor-mongers said.
Shalini Pandit has made it clear that while the BSKY is still in effect in the state, the information being circulated is really a rumor.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Manmohan Samal, the head of the BJP state unit, said that the BSKY would be discontinued and the Ayushman Bharat plan of the Central government would be implemented in Odisha whenever the BJP forms a government there. Subsequently, Manmohan declared that misleading people and keeping them from accessing healthcare treatments under the BSKY program is a social crime. The “BSKY” card was not closed, according to a press statement from the state BJP as well.